Famous Women

One of the reference resources recently added to the Credo Reference database is "The Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Women's Biography". These questions about notable women can all be answered from this source.

1. Who wrote the 1813 novel "Pride and Prejudice"?
   Jane Austen.
2. Which US actress won her first Academy Award for "Kramer vs Kramer" and also appeared in "Sophie's Choice" and "Out of Africa"?
   Meryl Streep.
3. Who was the first woman Prime Minister of Pakistan?
   Benazir Bhutto.
4. Which American jazz singer sang in Chick Webb's band and took over his band after his death in 1939?
   Ella Fitzgerald.
5. What was the pseudonym of the French writer Baronne Dudevant (1804-76), who had a ten-year relationship with Chopin?
   George Sand.
6. Name the American zoologist who wrote "Gorillas in the Mist" in 1983.
   Dian Fossey.
7. Which 19th-century English poet wrote "Sonnets from the Portuguese" and "Aurora Leigh"? She had a jealous and tyrannical father.
   Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
8. Which British athlete broke the women's world javelin record in 1986 at the European Athletics Championships?
   Fatima Whitbread.
9. Which American playwright wrote the plays "The Children's Hour" and "Toys in the Attic"?
   Lillian Hellman.
10. Which Burmese politician, co-founder and general secretary of the National League for Democracy, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991?
    Aung San Suu Kyi.

Questions set by Tony Augarde, author of "The Oxford Guide to Word Games"

How did you do?

0 - 1    Mmmm, not exactly brilliant.
2 - 5    A reasonable stab.
6 - 8    A good showing. But there's still room for improvement!
9 - 10  You really know your stuff. Well done!